A little lighter in the wallet, but with a tad more spring in his step, Peyton Manning is back for his fourth season with the Broncos, 18th in the NFL.

Was there ever a doubt? Manning seemed ready to announce his return a month ago but the Broncos’ desire to reduce his earnings became a three-week delay. Negotiations ended with Manning agreeing to take a $4 million pay cut from the $19 million salary he was scheduled in 2015.

“I don’t talk about my contract. I never have in 18 years and I’m not going to start now,” Manning said Wednesday afternoon. “I’ve been working real hard and I’m excited to be back with the Denver Broncos. Can’t wait for April 13 to get here when the team can finally come together. I’m excited to get to work and get to know the new coaches and looking forward to trying to make 2015 a special year.”

Manning will take his physical examination at Broncos headquarters on Thursday morning.

“I see that as being pretty routine,” he said.

He will then sign his revised contract and have one more meeting with general manager John Elway. Manning will then rejoin his family and the offseason before returning for team conditioning on April 13.

When Manning first signed with the Broncos three years ago, he received a five-year contract that paid him $18 million in 2012, $20 million in 2013 and another $20 million in 2014.

In return, Manning led the Broncos to 13-3, 13-3 and 12-4 records that resulted in first-round playoff byes each season. Manning can make the $4 million back in 2015 through team-based incentives. His non-guaranteed 2016 salary of $19 million remains unchanged.

This was the first pay cut of Manning’s career. Manning, who turns 39 on March 24, was first approached about the possibility of taking less pay on Feb. 11. That day the team flew him in from his hometown of New Orleans on owner Pat Bowlen’s private plane. Manning met later that day with Elway.

During that meeting, Manning let Elway know he wasn’t ready to retire — as he had hinted was a possibility following the Broncos’ disappointing 24-13, second-round playoff loss to his former Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 11.

So why the pay cut? It wasn’t salary-cap relief the Broncos were seeking so much as cash. In three players alone — Demaryius Thomas, Von Miller and Emmanuel Sanders — the Broncos are paying out $20.912 million in cash this year compared to last year.

When negotiations with Manning began, the Broncos were seeking a far more severe pay cut than $4 million.

As an example, $10 million allowed the Broncos to re-sign Chris Harris, a quality cornerback, in first-year, cash-out-the-door money. But $4 million? That’s what Washington paid defensive tackle Chris Baker, Chicago gave guard Matt Slausen and Jacksonville paid backup running back Toby Gerhart. It’s not enough to sign a top tier free agent.

Don’t expect the Broncos to re-sign Julius Thomas or Terrance Knighton with the $4 million Manning saved them.

Still, accepting a pay cut couldn’t have been easy for Manning, who has played better than anyone could have hoped following his difficult final season with the Indianapolis Colts in 2011.

Manning never took a snap that year as he recovered from a neck injury that required four surgeries and hundreds of rehabilitation hours to repair. Equipped with the No. 1 overall draft pick and Andrew Luck available, the Colts released Manning to free agency following that season. Among the 10 teams that expressed interest, Manning chose to play for the Broncos.

In his three seasons in Denver, Manning has averaged 44 touchdown passes, 4,954 yards and just 12 interceptions a season.

Manning broke the most significant NFL single-season passing records in 2013 when he threw for 55 touchdowns and 5,477 yards. He started last season with 22 touchdown passes against just three interceptions through seven games. But for various reasons — including an ankle injury to tight end Julius Thomas, Manning’s own strained quad, struggles along the offensive line and a coach John Fox-ordered transition to more rushing attempts — Manning’s performance fell off in the second half.

His new deal comes after his arch-quarterback rival Tom Brady reworked his contract with the New England Patriots. There were stark differences between the two, though. Brady’s accepted salaries below his market value in the future years of 2015 ($8 million), 2016 ($9 million) and 2017 ($10 million), but he was also given an additional $3 million up front to do so.

Manning’s straight cut will push the Broncos’ cap room to around $20 million.

Now that Manning is back and the Broncos have their finances in order, the next question will be how the quarterback will mesh with the West Coast-type offense favored by new coach Gary Kubiak and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison.

Manning has won 190 regular-season and postseason games and set several passing records by playing primarily in a no-huddle, fast-tempo, shotgun-formation, pass-heavy offense. Kubiak prefers to huddle up, run the ball first and have his quarterback take the snap from under center.

Manning’s return also means backup quarterback Brock Osweiler’s contract could expire without the Broncos ever getting a chance to see what their former second-round draft pick can do. Osweiler was selected in the the 2012 draft, but three years later he has never started a game. Osweiler will become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Still, the Broncos can’t be blamed for going forth for at least one more season with Manning. He is already the NFL’s all-time touchdown pass leader, with 530, and needs just eight more wins to pass Brett Favre’s as the league’s winningest quarterback.

Now that the 2015 mystery has been resolved, any chance Manning comes back to finish out his contract in 2016?

“I’m tired of talking about the past and the future,” Manning said with a laugh. “I’m excited to talk about now.”

Mike Klis: mklis@denverpost.com or twitter.com/mikeklis

Money matters on the roster

Peyton Manning agreed to a $4 million pay cut Wednesday. What does $4 million do for Denver?

$4 million Manning’s pay cut could help sign a free-agent guard such as Clint Boling or James Carpenter, a right tackle such as Derek Newton or be used as a signing bonus to lure a defensive tackle such as Arizona’s Dan Williams or Detroit’s Nick Fairley. It’s not enough to land a top-tier free agent.

Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post

Climbing the ladder

Peyton Manning holds the NFL record for touchdown passes and is within reach of several other career passing marks. A look at some of his career numbers and where they rank in league history:

Touchdowns

His 530 rank first all time. Brett Favre is second with 508. Drew Brees is fourth overall and the closest active player with 396.

Mike Klis was with The Denver Post from Jan. 1, 1998 before leaving in 2015 to join KUSA 9News. He covered the Rockies and Major League Baseball until the 2005 All-Star break, when he was asked to start covering the Broncos.

Rockies all-star shortstop crushed his 100th career homer against the Orioles Friday night at Coors Field. The blast was a mammoth shot that had some history behind it as Story is now the fasted shortstop on MLB history to 100 home runs.